Elbow Cay Lighthouse
Fl (5) W 15s🇧🇸Bahamas, BSOperational
Location & Light Range
About Elbow Cay Lighthouse
This white, round tower, distinguished by red bands, stands 27 meters tall. Its light originates from a focal height of 37 meters and emits five white flashes every 15 seconds. The lighthouse burns kerosene, consuming about a gallon per night. A first-order Fresnel lens, floating on mercury, focuses the light. It has been in operation since 1863 and its beam reaches 23 nautical miles.
Why it matters: Elbow Cay is one of the world's last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses and one of only three manual lighthouses remaining globally.
Background
Elbow Reef is one of the last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse was built in 1862 opened September 1, 1863 it is striped horizontally red and white. Its light can be seen from 23 nmi (43 km) away.
The Elbow Reef Lighthouse is one of only three manual lighthouses left in the world. It has a weight mechanism that has to be hand cranked every few hours to maintain the sequence of five white flashes every 15 seconds. The lamp burns kerosene oil with a wick and mantle, at the rate of one gallon per night. The light is then focused as it passes through the optics of a first order Fresnel lens which floats on a bed of mercury.
The Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society, (a Bahamian non-profit) is responsible for keeping the site true to its historical past as a fully-working, non-automated, aid to navigation. Entrusted by the Ministry of Transportation and Local Government, (responsible for the Port Department and Maritime Affairs), The ERLS is the Elbow Reef Lightstation's infrastructural custodian, tasked with the oversight and ongoing preservation and restoration of the lighthouse and lightstation itself which comprises the lighthouse tower, two lighthouse keeper's quarters, six outbuildings, one gift shop and the wharf/dock.Light & Optic
Characteristic Signature
Fl (5) W 15s
- Flash Type
- Flashing
- Light Color
- White
- Flash Count
- 5 flashes
- Interval
- 15s
- Raw Code
- Fl.(5)W. period 15s
- Focal Height
- 37m
- Geographic Range
- 23NM
Construction & History
- Year Built
- 1863
References & Identifiers
- Admiralty No.
- J4572
- NGA No.
- 11800
- Wikipedia
- Read on Wikipedia →
- Wikidata
- Q28375049 →
Tower & Structure
- Tower Height
- 27m
- Tower Shape
- round
- Tower Color
- white and red
Structure: White round tower, red banded. BERMUDA 102
Location
- City
- Bahamas
- Country
- 🇧🇸BS
- Latitude
- 26.5397°
- Longitude
- -76.9621°
Nearby Vessels
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